Lectionary: A series of Bible passages that are read throughout
the year in a church service. Often, the sermon is based on the passage
just read.

Legalism:

The belief that one's salvation depends
upon strictly following religious laws and rituals.

The belief that salvation is at least partly dependent on one's good
works.

Lectio divina: Latin for "divine reading." It is an
ancient method of prayer, in which the person meditates on a short
passage of the Bible or other written material and waits for God to
speak to them through the words of the text.

Legend: A traditional story sometimes regarded by the public as historical but which has not been authenticated and may be fictional. An example is the legend of King Arthur.

Lent: A period of spiritual preparation for Easter. It starts
40 days before Easter Sunday in the Roman Catholic
church. It starts eight weeks before Easter in the Eastern Orthodox
churches. In the early Church, recent converts were taught in
preparation for their baptism.

Lesbian: A female who is emotionally and physically attracted
only to other females.

Levirite marriage: From the Latin word "levir" --
husband's brother. The practice, required by Mosaic law, by which a widow
and her former-husband's brother were required to marry. This inevitably
involved serial rape in many cases. A child born to the couple would be
credited to the former husband.

Lex talionis: Latin for "law of retaliation." The Hebrew
Scriptures state that Injury was to be repaid with a similar injury: "an
eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth."

LGBT: An acronym that refers to lesbians, male gays, bisexuals
and transsexuals. There are many variations to this acronym including the
following, which is the most inclusive that we have seen:

LGBTTIQ: An acronym that refers to individuals who identify
themselves as lesbian, gay male, bisexual, transgender, Two Spirit, intersexual,
queer, and questioning.

Liberal Christianity (a.k.a. Progressive Christianity): A religious movement that holds beliefs
which are very different from those of conservative Christians:

Emphasizes human rights, the findings of science, and the higher
criticism (analysis) of the Bible;

Ignores passages in the Bible which are
immoral by today's standards -- e.g. those dealing with human
slavery, oppression of women, religious intolerance, torture of
prisoners, genocide, burning some hookers alive, etc.

Liberation theology: The interpretation of religious faith from
the perspective of the poor, oppressed and victimized. It seeks God in a
world of injustice. Found most often within Christianity.

Lilith: (a.k.a Lillith): Originally, she was a female
demon who formed part of Babylonian and Canaanite Pagan religion. She
was incorporated into the religion of the ancient Hebrews and is
mentioned in Isaiah 34:14. The Revised Standard Version of the
Bible refers to her as a Night Hag. She was believed to be a female
demon that seduced men, terrified children at night, etc. Some later
Jewish sources identified her as the first wife of Adam, created at the
same time as he was. She didn't submit to Adam's will and was banished
from the Garden of Eden. Eve then became Adam's second wife. Some
modern-day feminists have adopted Lilith as a heroine.

Limited atonement: This is the third of
The Five Points of
Calvinism: the belief that Jesus did not
die to save all humans. He died only for the sake of specific sins of
those who are saved. Sometimes called "Particular Redemption." This belief implies that all persons who have not been saved will go to Hell including those who have never heard of Christ or Christianity.

Literalist: "One who adheres to the letter or exact word; an
interpreter according to the letter." (The Free Dictionary) The term is
typically used when Interpreting scriptures.

Literary criticism: With reference to the Bible, a method of
analyzing passages "that seeks to discover the underlying literary
sources, stylistic features, type or genre of literature, authorship,
unity, and date of a text, for their value in interpreting the textís
meaning in its original historical context."

Liturgy: From the Greek word "leitourgia" meaning
"service." Forms and content of pulbic service for church worship as defined by various faith
groups.

Logos: An ancient Pagan Greek term meaning "word" or "reason", and
used to indicate the concept that the universe was governed by a higher form of
intelligence. St. Paul and other Christians have used it to describe Jesus as
the "Logos
of God" - the concept that the eternal thoughts of God were made incarnate (endowed
with a body) in Jesus.

Lower criticism: The analysis of available evidence to
determine the original text of the Bible.

Lucifer: Angel of light. Sometimes considered a synonym for
Satan.

Lutheranism: The group of denominations that trace their roots
to Martin Luther and the German Reformation in the early 16th century. In
the U.S. the largest Lutheran denomination is the liberal Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Second largest is the conservative
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

LXX: Roman symbol for the number 70. An abbreviation used to
refer to the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament) into Koine Greek. The translation was allegedly made by 70 or
72 individuals. This was the version of the Hebrew Scriptures used by the
Christians in the primitive Christian church.